GARDEN ROUTE | KAROO NEWS - Times are tough and the job market is flooded with desperate people looking for work. And in some cases, their desperation for work overrides red flags and the possibility of being scammed, or worse.
In recent weeks, and as recent as this very morning, Thursday 18 August, George Herald received a number of complaints about the latest cold-blooded scam doing the rounds. A scammer who preys specifically on female job seekers.
The modus operandi in these cases are exactly the same and points toward a highly calculated vehicle theft operation or worse.
The so-called employer presents himself under the alias of either Thomas Grey or Kevin Adams, pretending to be an affluent businessman from Johannesburg opening a branch in George.
Previously he pretended to be from a company that does rotational moulding and extrusion, and more recently he claimed to be from a company that supplies PPE clothing and products. Neither of these companies have any knowledge of Kevin Adams or Thomas Grey and denied ever having had any dealings with him.
Making contact
Currently it's unclear how the scammer finds the contact details of his victims, but it is believed that he somehow hacks into data basis of recruitment companies and employment websites as all the victims have previously registered with various such companies.
Once he identifies a victim he contacts her about a vacancy at his company to act as a sales representative in the Garden Route area for the new branch in George. He tells them that he does not yet have offices in George, but that there is an existing warehouse and many prospective clients. He offers a basic salary of R15 000, a cell phone, laptop, company car and garage card.
This is in the higher income bracket in George, which would sound too good to be true, but it doesn't seem far-fetched if you're under the impression that you are dealing with a businessman from Johannesburg.
All interviews and appointments are made via telephone, WhatsApp or e-mail. Not one of his victims have ever physically met their ‘prospective boss’.
Two legs
The scam consists of two legs. The first one is to find and 'appoint' the new sales representative. The second part is where it becomes interesting and how the scammer seemingly uses his 'employees' to unwittingly steal and move cars for him.
Once the appointment is made, the new rep is sent out to look at a couple of cars which the scammer (their new boss) tells them will be used by them to perform their duties. These cars are all offered for sale by private sellers as the scammer does not deal with car dealers at all.
When a vehicle is identified, normally above the R100 000 price range, a fake payment proof is sent to the seller and the rep is told to collect the car. These sellers are innocent, private vehicle owners who are selling their cars without any knowledge of said scammer or that they could be prospective victims as well.
If all goes well for the scammer, like it did in one of the cases George Herald is aware of, the rep collects the vehicle with its documentation from the seller and leaves.
She is happy because she has a car and can start to work. But, this excitement is short lived as the scammer then tells the rep to leave the car at a specific location, normally in a parking lot of a shopping centre or, as in this case, a fuel station, as 'his mechanic needs to check it out' or 'signage has to be done'.
The car gets dropped-off at said location with keys and documentation and is never seen again. The scammer shuts down communication completely and all phone numbers, websites, e-mail addresses cease to work. The man and the car disappear in thin air and the rep is left facing the music as she collected the car.
Victim 1
In the most recent case a woman from George did not only fall victim to the scammer, but also lost her previous job as she left to become a rep for “Kevin Adams”.
"I was contacted by Kevin Adams at the end of July. I was employed at that stage, but kept my options open and registered on a couple of employment websites. I don't know where he got my number, but he phoned me and told me about a position as a rep for the branch opening in George. I was going to tell him that I wasn't interested, but I opted to hear him out," she said.
The offer on the table of a basic salary of R15 000, a company car, a petrol card and a laptop was too good to resist.
She accepted the offer to start at the beginning of August and resigned from her job.
"In the beginning of August I still had no car. We kept in contact and he said that he was arranging transport for me, but he kept on backing out of deals because as soon as it came to payment he wouldn't transfer the monies immediately, so the sellers became suspicious and didn't want to carry on with the deal.
“On Friday 12 August, the seller of about the fourth car I had a look at, was waiting at my house for my boss to do the EFT. He sent the proof of payment, but when the seller had a closer look he realised that the funds were not made to be released immediately and backed out of the deal. My boss spent about an hour on the phone with the seller trying to convince him to release the vehicle and to trust him. He even said that I should take the vehicle and the owner should keep the papers. He then said he would reverse the payment and when it reflects in his account he will do an immediate payment to the seller, but in the meantime he should give me the car as this could take a couple of days. The seller didn't fall for this," she said.
Afterwards her “boss” told her he was coming to George over the weekend to meet up with her and sort out everything.
"He said his phone was going to be sent in for repairs. Since then he could not be reached at all. His website has been removed and there is no way of contacting him. Something was dodgy about the proof of payment and he refused to do a payment that reflected immediately," she said.
The jobless victim says she counts herself lucky. "Who knows what would've happened if I took the car or met up with him over the weekend?"
Victim 2
Another victim who spoke to George Herald this morning said she was contacted by Kevin Adams on 25 July. She was also interviewed and appointed telephonically and went to look at her first car in a township in the area. The deal didn't happen and she offered to look for a vehicle at some of the dealerships in George. Adams however told her that he was not interested in buying a car from a dealership and only worked with private sellers.
On Thursday 11 August, she went to Plettenberg Bay to finally fetch a car that she could use for work - a car her boss claimed to have already paid for.
"When the payment proof came through, the seller noticed that the transfer stated 'standard' instead of 'immediate'. Kevin said he paid for the car and I trusted him, so I decided to take the keys and leave the car with the seller until the money reflected in his bank account.
Halfway home, Kevin phoned and told me to turn back and give the keys back to the seller. He said he was flying to George over the weekend and I will see him on Monday," she said.
On Friday she messaged him again to find out what was happening, but there was no answer and since Saturday his phone has been off and there has been no way of reaching Kevin Adams.
"Something felt weird, so I started doing some research. The address he gave me for his business shows to be a house in Tulisa Park, Johannesburg and all the images he used on his website were stolen from other sites. It's scary. He has copies of my ID, driver's license and tax number. Who knows what he might do with it? Everyone is stressed about finding work and he seemed to be such a lovely guy."
Victims of Thomas Grey
Another victim says she applied for a job in October last year and was contacted by a man called Thomas Grey in December.
"All interviews happened over the phone and later that week he sent me an employment offer. He mentioned that his company is a big company now and opening another branch in George. I picked up a car that he apparently had bought and was told to drop it off in Mossel Bay for the mechanic to have a look at. On the way there I was pulled over by police who informed that the car had been reported stolen and involved in criminal activity. I nearly went to jail for something I had nothing to do with," she said.
Victim 1 and 2 both intend to lay criminal charges against the scammer.
A media enquiry regarding the above has been sent to the police. George Herald is awaiting feedback. George Herald also attempted to contact Kevin Adams/Thomas Grey numerous times during the day without success.
Ladies beware
Since these incidents have been reported to recruitment agencies in the area, the following messages have been circulating on social media.
There is a guy offering women employment in the area as a sales rep. The ladies are then appointed without any kind of face-to-face interview, and offered a salary of around R15K.
After appointment, the ladies are being asked to acquire a company vehicle, which he has supposedly paid for, and are being sent to very isolated and dodgy areas to collect said vehicle. The guy then all of a sudden cannot be reached or contacted in any way.
I am very concerned that this may involve human trafficking and/or identity theft at the very least.
We are living in desperate times, and people are desperate for work, but please be aware. If something seems too good to be true it usually is.
Please share this and be vigilant, before someone’s wife, daughter or sister goes missing.
All George-based job seekers - please be aware of this scam.
- Contact: Kevin Adams
- Interviews candidates telephonically,
- Sends contract no letterhead,
- Makes job offer - position sales and marketing on PPE
- Salary: R15 000.00 - to go up after 3 months plus car - this is where it gets interesting.....
He asks the candidate to go check out cars - in all different areas including Plett / Knysna and George
Promises to do an immediate payment
Of course no immediate payment
He also advises that he will fly into George to meet the candidates, but if the transaction with the vehicle fails, he then advises that his phone is damaged and he will be offline - never to be heard from again.
Website looks good - but all photos stolen off another company's website.
We presume that he is ideally looking for a trusting person to release the vehicle, of course the payment is not a true payment.
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